Emerson String Quartet

DVORAK String Quartets Emerson String 4778765

There aren't many better recording quartets these days than the Emerson String Quartet . . . this is one of the more irresistible string quartet sets to come along in a very long while. This is one ensemble that simply doesn't make discs that are anything other than exemplary both in rhythmic virtuosity and lyric sensitivity, both of which are required all the way through these melodically rich pieces . . . Terrific.

Record Review /
Jeff Simon,
Buffalo News / 25. April 2010

Played with smooth elegance by the New York City-based Emerson String Quartet, the music defines the composer at his romantic best . . .

For decades, the Emersons have held a position of unrivalled eminence, their crisp, forceful sound banishing memories of scrappy quartet concerts of yore. Yet Dvorák¿s music poses a particular challenge for this disciplined group. The scores often seem designed to force professional players out of their routines. The Emersons relaxed somewhat for the occasion, happily flirting with chaos in episodes such as the trilling coda of the quintet . . . the Emersons¿ sonic weight and tensile phrasing brought substantial rewards.

Record Review /
Alex Ross,
New Yorker / 07. June 2010

These are outstanding readings all, showing the Emerson to be at peak strength in this repertory . . . [here] they delve into a short cycle that proves them as adept as any quartet in the world at navigating Dvorák¿s quirky stylistic meanderings . . . [DGG¿s sound]: they give the Emerson a broad sound stage with excellent depth and decent bass. This one . . . takes its place among the finest exponents of this body of music.

Record Review /
Steven Ritter,
Audiophile Audition / 09. June 2010

. . . with the first few bars of the String Quartet No. 10, you recognize the joyous, springy step of this Czech composer . . . It's like being plunged into a forest of pines and birch and aspen, with a warm wind blowing and birds twittering and where it's rarely nighttime . . . there is nothing they cannot do. Listening to them is like watching a master painter who knows instinctively where to put a daub of paint. If anything, the naivete of Dvořák's music inspires a fresh playfulness in their playing. Solo voices sing out with vibrato and portamento, then fall back into an infinite variety of rich textures. (Listen to the interplay of first violin and tutti in Cypresses, No. 6.) The recording acoustic of the American Academy of Arts & Letters in New York provides a warm envelope in which nothing is lost.

Record Review /
David Perkins,
Boston Globe / 06. July 2010

These fine new recordings build on qualities that over the years have become indelibly associated with this quartet's profile: clean-edged attack, a suave, subtly varied body of tone, fine-tuned personalities within the group and an overall clarity of vision . . . this is really beautiful quartet playing, with inner parts that are both transparent and well integrated, and that gives the essential impression of four superb musicians sharing matters of vital import.

Record Review /
Rob Cowan,
Gramophone (London) / 01. August 2010

It¿s music that makes you feel glad to be alive and it¿s hard to imagine it better played.

Record Review /
Classic FM (London) / 25. August 2010

The Emersons' are interpretations that demand to be heard . . . The Emersons have thought very deeply about this repertoire and their affection and profound experience of this music is evident everywhere . . . there is much to marvel at in these treasurable performances.

Having enjoyed stable membership for more than 30 years, they're sounding better than ever nowadays: still with all the old tightknit concentration and fearsome technical command of their classic Beethoven and Bartók cycles from the 1980s, but now tempered with a new depth, subtlety of coloring, and a breathing rhythmic suppleness to complement the thrilling élan of their youthful days (though there's still plenty of that when it's needed) . . . by any standards these new Emerson performances are among the most distinguished available, and are very strongly recommended.